Roger's Forgotten Day
by GayApparel
Summary: [preRENT] It's Roger's birthday, and he feels like all his friends have forgotten.


**Disclaimer: **Don't own them... they're just on loan. Wish I did. XD

**Notes:** Dedicated to Dale for being the most awesomest friend ever! We both wrote a birthday fic, he did one for Mark, and I did one for Roger. Lots of fun. You should go read his fic too, cuz he's an AMAZING author. He's gay (underscore) maverick (no spaces) on LJ. Anyway... not that it matters, but today's my bday too, so I had to do this. At least Roger got a surprise party out of it. XD Hope you guys enjoy it. And thanks to ALL of you awesome people for reading and reviewing Today 4 U, Tomorrow 4 Mimi. I was worried about that fic, and I got lots of positive feedback, so thank you guys soooo much! Hope you like this one as much! XD Also, tomorrow marks two years on ffn for me! YAY!

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**Roger's Forgotten Day**

Today was a special day; especially for the resident musician of the loft on 11th Street, and Avenue B. Roger woke up excited, not having slept much the night before. Today was his birthday, and he was ready to celebrate.

He hopped out of bed, and jumped in the shower. Twenty minutes later, the man was clean, and dressed, ready for a fun-filled day with his friends. He emerged from his bedroom, expecting to see a setup of streamers, balloons, and a cake that Mark baked earlier that morning, just like it seemed to be every year since they had met. But to his dismay, there was nothing… not even a note. _How rude_, he thought, pouting to himself.

He was also saddened by the fact that no one seemed to be home. Where had everybody gone? He checked Mark's room first, but found no one. Not even Benny, who would normally still be sleeping this early in the morning. He figured Collins would probably be at work by now, so he hadn't expected to see him, but he certainly figured Mark would be there. He was even surprised that Mark hadn't woken him up. Immediately, disappointment crossed his face.

Then he had an idea. Perhaps they were out buying gifts for him. That brightened him up some, and he stepped out onto the fire escape to have a smoke. The crisp fall morning air gently pelted his face, and he wrapped his arms around himself.

He flicked the cigarette over the railing, and went back inside. He was already bored, not knowing what to do, and nobody there to keep him company. The thought about going back to sleep crossed his mind, but he knew there was no way that was going to happen. He could barely sleep the night before, thinking about all the fun he was going to have with his buds--drinking, getting high with Collins, and hopefully going to the strip club like they had done the last few times.

Several hours had passed now, and still no one was home. _Where the hell are they? _He pondered this for a while, sneaking peeks out the window to see if he could see any of them. Finally Collins got home. After a long day of teaching, the man plopped down on the couch, also known as his bed, and stretched out.

Roger ran out of his room, and fell down beside him, almost crushing his legs. "Hey, man, watch it. That could've hurt." Collins kicked him in the leg, and Roger fell to the floor.

"Fucker," he said, smacking Collins hard on his pant-covered leg.

"Watch it, boy. I can hurt you." Collins let out a hearty chuckle, Roger following suit.

Roger sat there and waited patiently--as patiently as he could that is--for Collins to say those two little words. But as he waited, they never came. Instead, it seemed Collins was already passing out. Did he forget? That wasn't possible. They've never forgotten his birthday. "So," he started, watching Collins turn to face him. "Is there something you wanna say to me?"

Collins grumbled a bit. "Yeah… shut up. I'm trying to sleep. I've had a very long day, and I wanna get some sleep."

Roger frowned. Well, more like pouted, and socked Collins in the arm. "Asshole. Come on. I know there's gotta be _something_ you wanna say."

Collins sat up, and glowered at Roger. "Boy, if you wanna live to see tomorrow, you'd best not do that again." He laid back down, and closed his eyes, turning away from Roger.

"Fine!" Roger stood up, and huffed his way to the fire escape for another cigarette. But he sat there, unable to light the cigarette in his mouth. He just didn't feel like smoking it. He stared out into the alley, hoping Mark or Benny, or someone would come home and help him celebrate. But after standing there for about fifteen minutes or so, he decided to go back inside.

He glanced over at the sleeping Collins, mumbling something along the lines of profanity, and stormed off to his room. There, he continued to grumble, picking up his notebook, and began scribbling down words. Before he realized it, it had become what could be lyrics to a song.

He sighed, and set the notebook down, not really in the mood to add the music he'd been hearing in his head while writing. His head propped up though when he heard the sound of the loft door open, and quickly ran out to see who it was. When he stepped out, he realized it wasn't someone coming in, but Collins leaving. _Well, that's just great_, he thought. _Not only did he forget my birthday, but then he takes off without even saying anything. And where the fuck is Mark? I thought for sure _he'd_ at least remember._

The entire day went by pretty quickly, and before he knew it, the sun had set, and still no one had shown up. It was starting to really piss him off. How could his so-called friends desert him like that? Especially on his birthday. That really hurt him, but if and when his friends decided to grace him with their presence, he wasn't about to show them that.

Finally, after what seemed like the entire day, Mark arrived home. "'Bout time," Roger grunted, glancing up at Mark from the couch.

"Sorry. I got really busy. I started filming this awesome--" Before he could finish he was cut off.

"Who fucking cares?" Roger snapped, arms folded across his chest.

"What's the matter with you?" Mark snapped back, sitting beside him on the couch, setting his camera down beside him.

"Nothing," Roger snapped again. "What makes you think there's anything the matter?" His passive-aggressive attitude shown through in bright colours.

"Hey, um…" Mark's demeanor had softened. "Wanna talk about it?"

"NO, I _don't _'wanna talk about it'. There's nothing to talk about." Roger decided now would be a good time for a cigarette; anything to avoid this conversation with Mark. But as he made his way out onto the fire escape once again, Mark followed him. "Would you just leave me alone?" He told Mark, and squatted down to the concrete floor.

"No. Come on, Rog. What's the matter?" Mark's voice dripped with concern. He crouched down beside Roger, and laid a hand on his shoulder.

Roger shook Mark's hand off his shoulder, and the sound that came from his throat sounded like a growl. "Just go away."

Mark, normally a pretty passive kind of guy, stood up, and sighed angrily. "Fine. Just stay out and fucking brood for all I care." He went back inside, and sighed again, this time despondently. He had to figure out a way to get Roger out without revealing what was really going on.

He watched Roger from the window, seeing how sad he looked, and thought about just telling him about the 'big plan' his friends had planned for the sullen musician. But he didn't want to give away the truth, so he had to come up with something else.

Roger stepped back inside, face scowling, and went right to his room. He didn't even wanna be there, but where else was he to go? He certainly didn't feel like celebrating anymore, and he felt his friends all abandoned him. He laid down on his bed and closed his eyes, trying to will the day away. At least tomorrow it wouldn't matter anymore.

Then Mark knocked softly on his door. "Hey, can I come in?" Roger didn't say a word, though Mark stepped in anyway. "Hey, um… do you uh… maybe wanna go out with me?" He realized after he said that how awkward it sounded, and even Roger noticed, because he was giving Mark a curious look. "I mean, you know… we could go out to your favourite bar and uh… get drunk."

Roger actually liked the sound of that. A good stiff drink… or five would certainly make him feel better about how shitty his birthday had been. After a few more minutes of silence, Roger gave in. "Fine. Let's go."

Both boys made their way out of the loft, and started walking down the street; Roger, still brooding with his arms crossed over his chest, and Mark, sighing, wishing he could just tell Roger the truth. Though, as they walked, they both stayed silent.

Once they arrived, Mark stopped Roger. "Wait… um… I uh… need to go inside first."

Roger curiously furrowed his brow. "Why?"

"I just do. Wait right here, okay?" Roger reluctantly agreed, and Mark entered the bar. Not more than two minutes later Mark reemerged. "Okay, come on in."

Roger followed him inside, and found that all the lights were out. _What the--_, he thought as the lights went on, and an array of voices shouted gleefully. "SURPRISE!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Finally, the two words he had been longing to hear all day had been uttered, and not just by all his best friends, but his band mates; some people he knew in high school that he'd kept in touch with; his mom, who he was very happy to see; a few old girlfriends he had managed to stay friends with; and Mark, just standing there smiling.

"Sorry I didn't say anything. I wanted to tell you, but we'd been planning this for a while, and I didn't wanna ruin it. We wanted you to think we'd forgotten so you wouldn't have any idea what was going on." Mark smiled sheepishly.

"Well… it worked." Roger smiled back, now feeling bad for having been rude to his friends. He gave Mark a big hug. "Thanks. I'm… sorry too. For earlier. I should've known you wouldn't forget my birthday."

"Forget your birthday? Never. You're my best friend; of course I'm gonna remember. But it was Benny's idea to throw you a surprise party instead of my usual streamers and balloons 'shindig' as he called it." Mark chuckled.

Roger hugged Mark once more, whispering, "Thank you." He wandered the room, greeting all his friends with hugs and thanks, and enjoyed the rest of his birthday doing exactly what he wanted.


End file.
